Chapter 6 - Breaking Out
“Mr. Holloway, you cannot leave!”
The silver-haired nurse stood blocking the doorway, clutching a clipboard as if it were a shield against my sheer stubbornness. Behind her, a nervous-looking resident doctor shook his head vigorously.
“You have three fractured ribs, a fractured wrist, a concussion, and internal bruising. If you walk out of this hospital right now, you risk puncturing a lung or triggering internal hemorrhaging.”
“Watch me,” I grunted, swinging my legs over the side of the hospital bed.
The moment my feet touched the cold linoleum floor, gravity reminded me of my own mortality. Pain shot through my torso with the force of a freight train, stealing the air right out of my lungs. I gasped, gripping the edge of the mattress to keep from collapsing.
Mara was by my side instantly, her hands hovering hesitantly around my arms. “Grant, stop it. The doctor is right. You’re in no shape to move.”
“My son is dying in another hospital across town,” I said through clenched teeth, refusing to look at her. “I am not sitting here eating gelatin while my boy runs out of time.”
Julian Vance stepped forward from the corner of the room where he had been quietly observing. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a sleek black leather folder.
“The discharge papers are signed, Doctor,” Julian said calmly, handing a multi-page document to the bewildered resident.
The doctor stared at the papers, then up at Julian. “Who are you?”
“Legal counsel and power of attorney for Mr. Holloway,” Julian lied with the smooth, practiced ease of a corporate fixer. “Private transport is waiting downstairs, equipped with an onboard IV drip and a licensed paramedic to ensure stable transit to Mercy General. The liability has been fully assumed by our firm.”
The resident looked at the signatures, looked at me—sweating, pale, and glaring with unyielding fury—and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“You’re out of your mind,” the doctor muttered.
“Probably,” I agreed, pushing myself up to a standing position with Mara’s help. “Get these wires off me.”
Ten minutes later, I was rolling down the hospital corridor in a wheelchair pushed by a paramedic, with an IV bag hooked to a portable pole, Mara walking closely beside me, and Julian leading the way like a secret service detail.
We bypassed the front lobby, exiting through the ambulance bay where a sleek black Mercedes van with darkened windows idled in the cool night air.
As the sliding door opened, revealing a fully equipped mini-ICU setup inside, I paused and looked at Mara.
“You didn't tell me Julian was a lawyer,” I noted as the paramedic helped me maneuver into the vehicle.
“Julian isn't just a lawyer,” Mara said, climbing in beside me and pulling the heavy door shut. “He’s been helping me manage Leo’s medical trusts and legal protections against your mother for the past three years.”
I sank back into the leather seat, the van pulling smoothly out into the nocturnal traffic of the city.
May you like
“My mother,” I muttered darkly, staring out the tinted window as neon streetlights blurred past. “She’s going to have a very long conversation with me as soon as this is over.”
Mara looked at me, her eyes reflecting the dim amber lights of the cabin. “First, we save our son.”
